Food Desert

The Food Desert indicator is the proportion of neighborhood households located in an area where more than 30% of residents live in poverty and are located at least a 1/2 mile away from a supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store. The USDA developed and defined food desert areas used in this indicator. The list of supermarkets, supercenters and large grocery stores that the USDA used to calculate the indicator is from 2010. Stores had to meet certain criteria to be included. Criteria included at least $2 million annual sales and having the following grocery departments: fresh produce, fresh meat and poultry, dairy, dry and packaged foods, and frozen foods. The higher the number, the higher the proportion of the neighborhood considered a food desert and the higher the negative impact on community health. Data are available at the Census tract level from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Food deserts may either have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable options. Lack of access to healthy foods is a risk factor for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Access to supermarkets affects people’s food purchasing behaviors and is strongly related to health and the built environment. Food Desert is in the Neighborhood Characteristics Domain.

Neighborhoodsort ascending Indicator Value Rank
Windom Park 50.0% 11
Windom 50.0% 11
Willard - Hay 100.0% 31
Whittier 40.0% 8
West Calhoun -% -
Wenonah 50.0% 11
Webber - Camden 100.0% 31
Waite Park 50.0% 11
Victory 50.0% 11
Ventura Village 33.3% 2
University of Minnesota 50.0% 11
Tangletown -% -
Sumner - Glenwood (Heritage Park) 100.0% 31
Steven's Square - Loring Heights -% -
Standish 50.0% 11
St. Anthony West -% -
St. Anthony East -% -
Shingle Creek 100.0% 31
Sheridan 50.0% 11
Seward -% -
Regina -% -
Prospect Park - East River Road 50.0% 11
Powderhorn Park 50.0% 11
Phillips West 100.0% 31
Page -% -
Northrop -% -
Northeast Park 100.0% 31
North Loop -% -
Nicollet Island - East Bank -% -
Near - North 66.7% 27
Morris Park -% -
Minnehaha -% -
Midtown Phillips -% -
Mid - City Industrial 100.0% 31
McKinley 100.0% 31
Marshall Terrace 100.0% 31
Marcy Holmes 50.0% 11
Lynnhurst -% -
Lyndale 66.7% 27
Lowry Hill East -% -
Lowry Hill -% -
Loring Park 33.3% 2
Longfellow 40.0% 8
Logan Park 100.0% 31
Linden Hills -% -
Lind - Bohanon 100.0% 31
King Field 33.3% 2
Kenwood -% -
Kenny -% -
Keewaydin -% -
Jordan -% -
Humboldt Industrial Area 100.0% 31
Howe 40.0% 8
Holland 50.0% 11
Hiawatha 50.0% 11
Hawthorne 25.0% 1
Harrison 66.7% 27
Hale -% -
Fulton -% -
Folwell 100.0% 31
Field -% -
Ericsson -% -
Elliot Park 33.3% 2
East Phillips -% -
East Isles -% -
East Harriet -% -
East Calhoun (ECCO) -% -
Downtown West 50.0% 11
Downtown East -% -
Diamond Lake 33.3% 2
Corcoran 50.0% 11
Cooper -% -
Como 100.0% 31
Columbia Park 100.0% 31
Cleveland 100.0% 31
Central 100.0% 31
Cedar Riverside 66.7% 27
Cedar - Isles - Dean -% -
Camden Industrial 100.0% 31
Calhoun Area Residents Action Group (CARAG) -% -
Bryn - Mawr -% -
Bryant 100.0% 31
Bottineau -% -
Beltrami 100.0% 31
Bancroft 50.0% 11
Audubon Park 33.3% 2
Armatage -% -

Key Citations:
1. Flournoy, Rebecca. “Healthy Food Healthy Communities, Promising Strategies to Improve Access to Fresh, Healthy Food and Transform Communities” (2011). PolicyLink.

2. NCHH. “Housing Interventions at the Neighborhood Level and Health: A Review of the Evidence” National Center for Healthy Housing. 2010.

3. Lovasi, Gina S., et al. “Built Environments and Obesity in Disadvantaged Populations” (2009). Epidemiologic Reviews, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

4. Whitacre, Paula, et al. “The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts: Workshop Summary” (2009). National Academy of Sciences.